From London Olympics to classroom: Gold medalist Claressa Shields back to high school in Flint

FLINT, MI -- In the chaos that was the first day at school at Flint Northwestern, one thing was certain: Everybody knew who Claressa Shields was.

The 17-year-old Olympic gold medalist was back in school today, less than a month after her historic win as the first American woman to win a gold medal in boxing. Quick to smile, Shields was met with a torrent of hugs from fellow classmates. She had on her "USA Boxing" jacket and some old school Nike's.

"I got a whole bunch of hugs from people I didn't even know," Shields said with a laugh.

Shields said she was "a little excited" for the school year to start. It was different, she said, to be waking up for school instead of training. She is looking forward to Honors English and Spanish, she said.

For other classmates, she is still the same person.

"She's just a cool person, period," said senior Chris Taylor, who has been friends with her since middle school.

She's known to friends as a down to earth person with a playful personality. That was evident when Shields threw a playful right hook to Taylor's ribs when he started messing with her.

Classmate Aliyah Tipton, 16, watched each of the three Olympic bouts and is impressed with how her friend handles all the attention.

"It was nice to watch her grow," Tipton said. "She's still the same person to me. The feeling (when she won the gold medal) was indescribable. I was so proud of her."

As for Shields' future, she still has many decisions to make. She is still considering whether to go pro or stay an amateur. After graduation, she'd like to go to a four-year college to study photojournalism. She has been inspired by some of the photographers that have followed her around, she said.

For now she is focused on the school year. Her goal is to get a 4.0 this year.